Trying out the New Saddle

Got a new saddle and tried it out today. Surprised me when it was actually a tad bit wide! My big boy found a saddle too wide. Luckily wide is much better than not wide enough. I put a couple thin pads on and I think that was just enough. Unfortunately the humane girth I borrowed to try out the saddle was a bit big. Who thought I'd need something smaller than a 36" girth. I might need something more like a 28" if you can believe that. And maybe black leathers would be a good thing. ;)

I was actually out at the barn for a staff party for WCR so I was just out to ride a few minutes to try out the saddle. I left my helmet at home and my girth was too big. Wouldn't try this on any other horse but Axel, that's for sure. But we made it around the pasture a few times and he was actually pretty decent. Especially since Tuesday he was a real pain, and he did stomp in protest as I was mounting. Hopefully this saddle will fit better than my AP saddle.

We ended up using 7 of the photos we took of Beau and put them in a big picture frame for his owner's birthday. He was very happy about them. He tried to give Beau some birthday cake but Beau was more interested in the hay and his grain. Even Kalani didn't want any cake. Axel was no where in sight at that point, my guess is that he would have loved a piece of cake.

I can't wait for our dressage lesson on Tuesday.

New Saddle!

I bought a used dressage saddle online from a gal in a horse community that I frequent. It arrived yesterday and I think I got an awesome deal. I'm not sure if it fits my horse yet, but it's really nice leather and seems to be a sturdy saddle. So even if it doesn't fit I should have no problems re-selling it. I do need to get new stirrup leathers, irons, and a dressage girth. And I should probably get a white dressage blanket. Right now I have a black one, and a black saddle, and a black horse, and my breeches are black. I guess we're set for Halloween though!

Tomorrow is Tom's WCR staff party out at the ranch. So I'm going to head out there early and try out the new saddle. I borrowed a short girth from Steph and I can just use my brown leathers and irons from my AP saddle until I figure out what I want to do. I'll definitely take a photo or two.

Dressage Lesson #16

So yesterday was my last chance to get some useable shots of Beau to print for a gift. I'm pretty sure I could have done better, with 3 tries even, but it's too late now so I'll have to work with what I've got. I shot a few more of Beau as I was going down the hill to fetch Axel. Luckily I stood there long enough that the herd got curious about dinner and ran up the hill.

I groomed Axel and discovered he's still tender on the left side of his back. Nothing major, and it could just be ticklish but concerning anyways. I think my english saddle isn't fitting him quite right. Luckily I have a dressage saddle on the way! I hope that fits better. I tacked him up and when Tricia arrived we went to work in the round pen since Steph wasn't around. We've been doing a little bit of desensitization with the rope around his legs - he passes that with flying colors. And we've been working on bending from the ground - not quite as good at this yet. And finally wrapping the rope around his body trying to get him to learn to move away to release the pressure - he sort of gets this. I think I'll have to start doing a lot more ground work with him before I ride.

Because then it was time to get on and ride and he was just not having any of it. 3 steps and stop, just like on Sunday. I'd kick and kick and he'd just stand there like a lump. Tricia got on to see if she could feel that maybe he was sore or something. And she kicked and kicked and he just stood there without flinching. She got him moving and decided to try without the saddle. Around a few more times bareback but she couldn't really feel any particular unsoundness. He was just plain slow and unwilling. She did manage to convince him to get around the pen a few times at the walk and he really looked good. He was stepping underneath himself really well. He was pretty unhappy about being asked to trot, but Axel's a lover not a fighter, so his protests were very wimpy.

We decided to try Tricia's saddle to see if that maybe fit him better. It looked a tiny bit better but it didn't really affect his willingness to move at all. I was back on riding and his walk wasn't quite as painfully slow as before but it wasn't great by any means. I asked for the trot a few times and he'd complain, pin his ears back, then trot a few steps with his ears forward. Rinse and repeat. We weren't really getting too far with him and it was threatening rain so we stopped. He's not much for backing up under saddle, doesn't really know the queue or something. So we tried that once with me asking from his back and Tricia asking from on the ground. He backed up a few steps and the lesson was over.

I feel like we're just not finding the thing he likes to do. Especially after I thought riding down the road on Sunday would be a nice change of pace and that failed miserably. Tricia might bring Ollie out. He's 5 and full of it. Maybe Axel will be willing to follow him around a bit. It'll be interesting to say the least, I think Ollie probably has a bit more stamina in him than Axel does. And I think this winter I'll stick with bareback riding and see if his attitude improves at all. Or maybe we can try the western saddle as well.

Nice autumn day

Was planning to go for a ride with Tricia today but never ended up getting a hold of her. While I waited I tried to take some more photos of Beau in hopes of getting a good one to print. I still don't think I ended up with much but I'll print a few out and see what they look like. It was gorgeous out so I spent a long time trying to get Axel up to the paddock. He's been less than willing lately. We made it up and I groomed him and tacked him up. When I had first drove up, the horse and donkey that live on the corner were up near the fence. The donkey was sleeping (I hoped) on his back with his front legs curled up in the air. I thought Axel and I wouldn't ride down the road and make sure the donkey was actually sleeping.

Unfortunately Axel's mind was not in the task. He'd walk 3 steps and then stop. Then it'd take 2 minutes to get him moving again. I did use the time to work on his flexion and bent him right and left until he worked up some momentum and decided to walk on again. I'm not sure how long it took us to go 2 blocks but it seemed like forever. We never did make it down to see the donkey but when I drove home he wasn't still laying there so I guess he was just a heavy sleeper. Naturally the walk back to the barn was a lot more lively, but still it was a walk. I think Axel might still be sore like he was on Tuesday. After the ride I stretched his sore leg a bit, hopefully he'll be in better shape on Tuesday.

Short but successful - Dressage Lesson #15

Something about Jeff and a camera makes Axel go lame. I kid you not. Last time he came out to shoot my lesson, Axel's back was so sore you couldn't touch it without him buckling. Last night Jeff came out to shoot Beau but also maybe take a few shots of my lesson and Axel was gimpy once again. He did get a few shots though. Axel was being his usual slow self while I tried to lead him into the pasture where we were going to ride. But that wasn't anything knew so I hopped up and off we went. We started with some bending right and left while standing to loosen up his neck. He's a pretty stiff guy, but it definitely helped to do the stretches. He was actually pretty forward and bending pretty decently to the left. We did some spirals out and worked on his "bad corner," the corner of the circle he always falls out on because it's closest to the gate. He was doing very well otherwise. Then we switched directions and he was very unhappy. Luckily Axel's unhappy is expressed by tiny little baby bucks, if you weren't paying attention you may not even notice. We tried to get him around the circle a few times in case he was just being ornery but he kept bucking. So I took him around the whole pasture asking for an extended trot to get him moving, more bucking. Tricia helped him stretch his front right leg a bit and we went around the pasture one more time. This time he was nice about it, but you could tell he still hurt. Since he was nice, we ended the riding portion of the lesson and decided to do a little bit of ground work. We just did a bit of rope work around his belly and legs, could be compared to Parelli's friendly game. Then we did some more bending his neck. And we finished with having him unwind himself from the rope if I wound it around him. So it was a short lesson but he did pretty well, so he deserved the reward of a short lesson. Hopefully by Saturday or Sunday he'll feel better so Tricia can ride him on the trail a bit.

I haven't seen the photos yet but I'll be sure to post them when I get them from Jeff. I cleaned up Beau and we took him down across the creek. Unfortunately we lost a lot of light and Jeff doesn't think many shots turned out. I might have to try to take a few of my own on Saturday or Sunday just in case. Hopefully he ended up with a couple that work. All we really need is one really good one to print as a portrait.

We Survived the Second Trail Ride

Well it started out looking pretty raining and miserable but by the time I got to the barn it was starting to clear up. It was still super windy but I figured since the trail was in a valley it wouldn't be as bad down there. I gathered all the stuff I thought we'd need and got it ready to go. I started grooming Cody when Jeff and Damin arrived. They decided to check the place out since Damin hadn't been to see the horses here yet. While they went on a hike I finished grooming Cody and started in on Axel. Steph and Jon showed up and they got Corey ready. We had gotten all the horses ready to go and packed up the truck and were just about ready to load the horses. Jeff and Damin were still out wandering in the woods but were just about back so we put Axel in first. He can't stand there for more than 5 minutes before he gets antsy and starts to try and turn around, thus leaving no room to put the next horse in. We had Corey in there next but he started fidgeting as well and we hadn't gotten Cody in yet. So Corey came back out and we tried Cody again. He was still pretty hesitant but would get as far as two feet in before deciding to back out. Once Corey was out of the trailer, Cody decided he had enough room atleast, and after much coaxing, Steph was able to get him in. It probably only took 10-15 minutes to load everyone but it always seems longer when you're standing there waiting. Corey hopped right up and we were off!

Luckily it's a short drive so the boys didn't have long to wait. We unloaded them right away and tied them to the trailer while we got situated and filled out our paperwork. They had lots of goodies for everyone, food, horse treats, pens and other odds and ends, and a WCR sweatshirt. We hung around long enough and tacked up the boys to get ready to head out. It was a ride as much or as little as you want type of ride. They had prizes to give out at 2 but you could pick them up on your way back. After some blanket swapping, and girth swapping we had everyone dressed. The ride started out pretty decent. Corey was a little excitable but nothing terrible. Cody was actually walking, and Axel was his usual unflappable self. We met up with a group of mares and their riders. Cody and Corey decided they needed to be part of that group. We rode with them for quite a ways and the only issue was our boys trying to get a little too close, but no one pinned ears or got mad. Finally we were tired of holding them back and decided to pass the group. This was followed by a turkey or grouse scaring Corey and Cody, just a small spook to the site. We were still trotting and they only missed one beat when the bird scared them. Cody's trot wasn't giving him the distance he wanted so he started cantering, followed by, but still in front of him, Corey. Axel brought up the rear at a slow trot. We cantered for quite a ways and put some good space between us and the group of mares.

We went along fairly calmly for quite a ways more. Had a couple more short canters in there before Cody started getting kind of tired. And with that, he also got very cranky. He stopped and made an effort to turn around and head "home." We fought, it wasn't pretty, but I won. We continued on for a few more minutes before we decided to turn around. We had been out over an hour and probably went 5 miles or so. It was a good time to head back. Of course he horses found some well of energy and Corey and Cody were on a mission to trot (or run if allowed) all the way home. I tried several tactics to get him to slow down. Weaving, which lead to speeding up. Aiming for the weeds. Getting behind Corey or Axel, which lead to Cody just trying to pass. I asked for some circles, which was like asking someone to give up their first born child. We managed to make a few super fast spins in a circle. About half way back he finally started mellowing out again and things were pleasant.

By that time Jon was feeling pretty comfortable with Axel and he passed Cody and I at a canter. I held Cody back but that only caused more issues in the end. Because now Axel was far ahead of us and instead of just cantering to keep up, Cody broke out in a gallop. It wasn't a terrible gallop, quite easy to ride actually, but I had to wonder if he planned on stopping when he caught up to Axel, or if I had totally lost him, and we'd gallop the rest of the way home. Luckily he slowed down when he approached Axel and that was it. He was pretty good the rest of the way home. A little rushing here and there, same with Corey. But they had relaxed enough that their sweat started drying from the wind.

So we made it back in one piece. Another 2hour+ ride, probably 10 miles, and my hips and knees were pretty sore. We untacked and left the horses to dry and got them some water. My boys learned on the last trip that yucky water is better than no water and guzzled it down. Corey turned his nose up at it. We retrieved our prizes. There weren't very many people at the ride so everyone won something. I ended up with a yellow feed bucket (yay Axel's color) filled with a bunch of grooming supplies and other horse stuff. Steph collected the most pledges so she won a saddle. And she won a leather halter and bridle bag and bag of sweet feed, and Jon also won a bucket of fun things.

We put Axel in the trailer and fought with him to get him to stand in the right place while we tried to get Cody in. Cody still wasn't very willing to just jump right in. Steph lunged him a bit and got the front feet in and repeated that several times, he just wouldn't put his whole body in the trailer. But now he doesn't seem scared, just stubborn. In the end he did get in, of course, probably took another 10-15 minutes. Corey jumped right in and we were heading for home. There was a lot of calling and whatnot as we drove up the road and Kiko and Kalani noticed us. The unloading went fine and everyone was tucked back in their pasture.

The moral of the story is that we'll be working on the trailering thing a lot more. Steph and I might take the boys down to that trail more often since it's so close and is good practice for them to go out for a few hours. I hope we get a chance to get out atleast once more this fall before it snows. We'll probably get Anne to join us and maybe Tricia would bring her horse down, who knows.

We Can Ride Trail Ride

Getting ready to head out for the trail ride. It's windy and rainy so it should be an interesting time. Here's hoping Cody goes in the trailer, and the rest of the horses for that matter!

Good News

Ok I promise next time I'll have some photos. None this time though, sorry. Tricia has strep throat so she decided it might be a good idea to cancel our dressage lesson tonight (Axel cheers). So my plan was to work with Cody on the ground and then see if Steph was up for a ride. Steph and I went down the back hill to find all the kids. They came halfway up the hill and I thought I was going to have to go get Cody but all the horses decided to head the rest of the way up full speed. I groomed him up. Darn horses are getting their winter fuzz already. Stephanie went to work with Kiko and Kalani getting them used to a bit so I started working with Cody.

I was trying my best to get Cody moving around on command. He's really good at backing up, and I was able to move his hindquarters and his front end as well. I was working on trying to get him to go near the trailer. Some of the other horses were hanging around and Cody was able to stand near the trailer opening very calmly. I was giving him cookies when he'd get near enough to touch the trailer floor. Between tries I was trying to get him to lunge (circle around me) but he'd keep turning to face me.

Steph had finished with Kalani and had come down to get Kiko. She worked with Kiko in the pasture getting her used to wearing a bit. And in the meantime watched me struggle with Cody. When she was done with Kiko I asked for some advice about lunging Cody. She gave me some tips which helped me get a few things sorted out. Then she asked if she could try it with him.

She ended up getting him to lunge pretty well. All it took was a few clear cues and a little more escalation than I was giving him. He's a little less than willing to turn his left eye to her and lunge in that direction, but really good at going around the other way. She worked him in a circle and started leading him around. He likes to follow instead of being right next to the leader. And when he gets confused he backs up. She worked on correcting that behavior and it really didn't take much. He seems to learn pretty quickly. She thought maybe he had been lunged before but just needed a reminder.

After this circling and leading work he walked up pretty darn close to the trailer without any issues. From there she worked on coaxing him into putting a foot on the trailer. He did pretty good putting one foot up on the trailer but it was kind of slippery and he was very unsure. He'd attempt to put weight on it but then back off. When he made a good effort and put a foot on the trailer and remained there calmly, we'd give him a cookie and then back him away from the trailer and let him rest.

Finally after several good tries, he put both feet up on the trailer and stood there. He did this twice calmly and was rewarded for it. And the next try, up in the trailer he went. He was still very nervous once he was inside. Steph gave him a cookie and rewarded him. He wanted to turn around and walk out of the trailer head first. Steph made him face forward and back out of the trailer. When he got to the end of the trailer he stepped down with his back feet but then got nervous and nearly ran backwards the rest of the way. The second attempt he went right up, stood fairly calmly in the trailer, and then backed out slowly and calmly. So after about 2 hours of just working with him and going slow, he did excellent. (Let's see how he does Saturday when it counts!)

Between tries Kalani was poking his nose in and out of the trailer very interested. I stood in the trailer with a cookie and he put both front feet in the trailer, no nervousness at all. Just curiosity and interest. He wasn't haltered or anything so he just stopped at two feet, and he's know for being a little scared about everything so we didn't ask for anything else. Especially since he was giving us so much without being asked.

When we were done playing we fed everyone their dinner which I'm sure was the ultimate reward. Cody actually tried to sneak away from me when I went to get him for dinner, but when I got smart and told him to "whoa," he actually listened.

Trail ride on Saturday!

Some Minor Breakthroughs - Dressage Lesson #14

Had a lesson this evening as usual. I've been having some issues getting both horses to lead lately. Everyone was out in the front pasture so it wasn't quite as much work but it seems I win a lot easier if I make Axel move his hindquarters around back and forth. Eventually he decides that it's easier just to follow me. I groomed him and found another slightly sore spot on his back, this time further up but not nearly as bad as the last time he was sore so we tacked up and got ready to go. Axel was feeling unmotivated as usual so we decided to work on the hill. He started out pretty slow but things picked up after a few trips up. He's doing pretty good at the walk, and he frames up and collects a lot more now than ever. But he still has a lack of momentum which I'm not sure how to fix yet. We do know he likes to weave cones, maybe he's a pole bender at heart.

Steph had to head out after working with the "kids" so I stayed to work with Cody instead of going home right away. We were chatting in the paddock when he came up to see what was going on. So I haltered him and asked him to move around a bit. His herd was out in the pasture eating and he wanted to keep his eyes on them but after moving him around for a minute or two he followed me willingly to the round pen. We started by just walking in a circle which he did willingly. I asked him to stop when we weren't facing his herd and we'd stand there for a few minutes. He wouldn't last long before he wanted to turn and face them again so we'd walk on some more. I put out some ground poles so he'd have something more to think about when we walked. Every time we stopped and he'd stay facing away from his herd he'd get to rest as reward along with a forehead scratch and a "good boy." We tried stepping over the ground poles and just stopping, keeping only the front end over the pole. He even managed to get a few sideways movements correct with a physical cue. We worked on this for probably 30 minutes or more when I decided to unclip the rope from the halter. I turned and walked around the round pen and Cody followed. I was thinking he'd probably ignore me and stand by the roundpen door watching his herd. But he kept following me. He hesitated a bit when we came back around facing the pasture but he kept following me.

I debated turning him out at that point but he still seemed interested so I clipped the lead back on and we walked down to the trailer. I worked on just getting him comfortable standing near the trailer. He'd put his nose on the trailer floor fairly willingly but there was a lot of huffing and puffing. I asked him to move away from the trailer a few times, asking him to back and then move his hindquaters. Then we'd go back towards the trailer and just stand. He'd take a few steps at a time towards the trailer and stand while I sat on the end of the trailer. I just had very little steady pressure on the rope so that when he'd step towards me he'd get an immediate release. So we didn't get any feet in this time but hopefully what we did do was helpful anyways, there was a lot of licking and chewing going on (on his part - that's a good sign that he's thinking and stuff). I still can't get him to trot on the lead but he followed me back up to the roundpen, very willingly, so I could pick up some of the stuff and tie open the gate. I tied him in the paddock and grabbed some of the apples I brought as a reward. I turned him out and he stood in the gate area watching me head out to my car. Hey maybe I'm moving up in the herd finally ;)

Saturday Visit

I just went out for a quick visit on Saturday thinking it was supposed to rain. My first task was to work with Cody a bit. I tried this game where you shadow the horse and basically just follow it around with your arm over his back. We did that for 10-15 minutes when all the horses moved into the woods and just stood there swishing flies away. At that point I started trying to get Cody to move around on my cue. I was able to get him to back with very little pressure on his chest, and I had him turning away from his herd and standing there without flipping his head around. I didn't make him go up to the paddock at all, we just stood in the trees and played a bit. Each time I'd ask him to do something and he'd do it, I'd leave him alone and just stand there for a few minutes. I think the key with Cody will be to go slow and to start figuring out when he's ready to tune me out.

When I was done playing with him I decided to pester Axel a little bit. He was standing near a fallen tree so I moved him around a bit. At first he was very reluctant but after a few tries I could move his hindquarters by swinging the lead rope towards him. When I had him near the tree I climbed up bareback. He didn't really want to go up the hill to the paddock at all but the other horses started moving that direction so Axel gave in and followed. I was actually surprised at how balanced I felt on him bareback. After a few minutes he was responding pretty well to my reining with just the halter and lead rope. We circled around the pasture a few times and he decided he was done and went towards the paddock. He seemed to think that if he went in the paddock I'd get off. So after circling the paddock a few times he finally went out the gate and I pointed him back towards the back pasture. When he got partway down the hill that's when I got off and let him go back to his buddies.

I grabbed Corey (after chasing him around a bit - he's got this game where you have to chase him in 3 circles before he'll stop and let you catch him). He lead fine up to the pasture and the trailer. Unfortunately the trailer wasn't hooked to the truck so we couldn't really load into it. But after some weird spastic lunging (his previous owner must have just run him around in circles to use up energy because he'd just gallop around in a tiny circle) he willingly put both front feet in the trailer. He would have loaded right up had the trailer been attached and I had given him the chance. So there's no issues there I don't think. Now we just have to get Cody to load willingly.